Quick answer: A hay tedder spreads the mown swath out so it dries faster and more evenly — often cutting a full day off drying time and saving a cutting from a coming rain. The catch is leaf shatter: ted grass and heavy, humid cuttings freely, but ted alfalfa only while it's still moist (within about 12–24 hours of mowing, or early morning with dew on), never when it's crispy. Run the PTO slow with a quick ground speed, watch for dust behind the machine as your "too dry" alarm, and skip it in hot, dry, windy weather when the hay will dry on its own.
Ask whether you need a hay tedder on any forage forum and you'll start an argument. Half the room calls it the most important machine in the shed; the other half says it knocks the leaves — and the money — off their alfalfa. They're both right. A tedder is a drying tool with a sharp tradeoff, and the operators who win with one have simply learned when to use it and when to leave it parked. Here's the whole decision, grounded in how working hands actually run them.
What a hay tedder actually does
A tedder picks the mown crop up off the ground and scatters it across the full width of the field, fluffing it so sun and wind reach every stem instead of just the top of a tight windrow. The payoff is speed: hay that might take three days to cure in a rope can be ready in two when it's spread out. For a lot of growers — especially in the humid East and Midwest — that extra day is the difference between dry hay and a rained-on mess.
"I consider a tedder maybe the most crucial piece of equipment I use because it allows me to get dry hay faster and by when I need it. When your hay dries faster you can make more hay."
— Hayjosh · HayTalk thread 100867
In wetter climates the sentiment gets blunt:
"There has been a tedder on this farm since tedders were built… No tedder no dry hay. But if you want a challenge by all means try it without a tedder and let us know how it goes."
— IH 1586 · HayTalk thread 100867
That's the upside everyone agrees on. The disagreement is entirely about the cost — and the cost is leaves. The rest of this guide is about getting the drying benefit without paying it.
When a tedder pays for itself
Tedding earns its keep in three situations: thick grass or grass-mix hay that won't dry in a windrow, humid or cool conditions where the crop just sits there, and the rescue after a rain. In all three, getting the crop spread out fast is worth far more than the wear and tear.
"It depends on conditions. Middle of summer, hot and dry, windy, light hay — forget it! Any other time — a necessity. The sooner the hay is spread out — the faster it will dry. The longer it is exposed to the sun the more it will lose color. Lots of trade offs in life."
— Hayguy · HayTalk thread 100867
The rescue case is where even skeptics buy one. When hay is down and the sky opens up, spreading the wet swath is often the only way to save it:
"I am in northern IL and had just about ready to bale hay and it got rained on. Went and bought a tedder and was able to salvage it all. It lost some green, but I was still able to sell every bale… The less beating the hay gets, the more leaves stay on."
— ACDII · HayTalk thread 100867
If saving wet, down hay is your main reason for buying one, our guide on what to do with rained-on hay walks through the rest of that decision. For routine grass and grass-mix hay, a tedder pairs with a gentle rake and a conditioner to shave drying time — see how to make dry hay faster and the orchard grass hay guide.
When tedding costs you: pure alfalfa and dry hay
Here's the other half of the argument. Alfalfa carries its protein in the leaves, and those leaves snap off the stem the instant the plant gets dry. Run a tedder through crispy alfalfa and you're scattering your best feed value across the stubble. Plenty of growers have tried it and quit:
"For me it was a waste of time… The leaves dried faster than what I didn't ted, but the stems dried at the same time. I also noticed though I tedded, and raked with plenty of dew, when it came time to bale the tedded hay lost leaves more than the untedded hay."
— Teslan · HayTalk thread 26900
There's even a rule of thumb for the loss. Tedding or raking alfalfa shatters more leaves the drier it gets, and doing it in the dry is roughly twice as costly as doing it with dew on:
"The School solution is you will lose 5% of your leaves raking or using a tedder at 50% moisture. Using either when the hay is wet with dew is about half of that. I like to rake at first light on the day before I expect to bale."
— hay wilson in TX · HayTalk thread 26900
None of that means "never ted alfalfa." It means ted it moist. If you ted pure alfalfa, do it right behind the mower while the leaf is still pliable — not after it has cured a day in the sun. For the leaf-saving end of the job (baling moisture, PTO speed, night baling), see round-baling alfalfa without losing the leaves, and if drying alfalfa is a constant fight, a better conditioner often beats a tedder — compare roll vs. impeller conditioners.
The moisture rule: ted moist, never crispy
The single skill that separates a tedder that helps from one that hurts is timing it to leaf moisture. The window for alfalfa is short:
"I try to ted alfalfa within 12 hours, but not more than 24 hours after mowing. Leaves still have enough moisture that there is no leaf shatter. After 24 hours, leaves are usually too dry and I will have leaf loss."
— rjmoses · HayTalk thread 26900
Others get away with tedding alfalfa even later — but only at first light, with heavy dew softening the leaf:
"I ted my alfalfa out the morning that I bale. Works great here and I don't seem to suffer the consequences that Teslan mentioned. Bales great with not too much leaf loss."
— Vol · HayTalk thread 26900
And the field signal that you've waited too long is one you can see from the tractor seat: dust. As one operator put it, "If I see dust behind the tedder things are too dry." When the crop throws dust and chaff instead of folding over, stop — you're shelling leaves, not drying hay.
How to run a tedder without beating the leaves off
Setup and speed matter as much as timing. The most repeated advice is counterintuitive: slow the PTO down and pick the ground speed up. A slower rotor is gentler on the leaf, while a quick travel speed still spreads the crop wide:
"Ted when it's green or with the dew on and you'll be fine. If you Ted dried hay it breaks the leaves and seeds right off. I don't run them at 540 PTO speed either. I run slow PTO speed and a quick ground speed. When done just right it'll almost stand the hay up. If I see dust behind the tedder things are too dry."
— ClinchValley86 · HayTalk thread 100867
Next is matching the machine to your windrows. Most four-basket tedders are built to straddle and spread a set number of swaths at once; some growers narrow the windrow at the mower so the tedder catches everything in one pass:
"I am doing 3 windrows at a time with my Krone 4-basket. I run a variation; I set my conditioner to throw a narrow windrow; then, when I come back and ted, I can straddle the 'middle' windrow and catch all of the outside ones."
— glasswrongsize · HayTalk thread 92588
On later passes, many tedders have an edge/border setting that throws the crop in off the fence line or away from a wet spot:
"First pass I run as [down the middle]. Second time I use the edge feature and throw to the side. Third back straight."
— Hayman1 · HayTalk thread 92588
One more nuance for tedding after a rain: let the surface dry before you stir, or you just sling heavy, wet clumps around without fluffing them:
"I wait till the top is dry. When the hay is dry, the tedder fluffs it better as it's not as heavy. Then you'll have fluffier hay that will get more air circulation and dry better. When it's wetter and heavier it tends to just get thrown farther."
— Hayjosh · HayTalk thread 103213
Pulling it together, a leaf-saving routine looks like:
- Time it to moisture. Grass is forgiving; alfalfa is not. Ted alfalfa within 12–24 hours of mowing or early with dew on — never crispy in the midday heat.
- Slow PTO, quick ground speed. Back off from 540 RPM. The rotor should fold the hay over and "almost stand it up," not blast it apart.
- Match baskets to windrows. Narrow the swath at the mower so the tedder straddles and catches every row; run down the middle first, use the edge setting on later passes.
- Minimize passes. Every trip costs some leaf and color. Ted once or twice to spread, then rake with dew on the morning before you bale.
- Read the dust. Dust and chaff flying behind the machine means you're shattering leaves — stop and wait for dew or bale.
So do you actually need one?
Geography and crop decide it more than anything. A quick read on which side of the argument you're likely on:
- You probably want a tedder if: you're in the humid East, Midwest, or South; you make a lot of grass or grass-mix hay; your cuttings are heavy; or rain keeps catching your hay down. In those conditions a tedder routinely saves a day and rescues cuttings.
- You may not need one if: you're in an arid West climate where hay dries fast on its own, you bale mostly pure alfalfa for the dairy market, and a wide-swath mower-conditioner already lays the crop across most of the ground. Several dryland alfalfa growers found a tedder cost them more leaf than it saved time.
- Either way: a tedder is most valuable as an insurance tool — the machine you're glad to own the week it won't stop raining, even if it sits most of the season.
It doesn't have to be a fancy one, either. A serviceable used tedder that you run only when conditions call for it pays back the first time it saves a cutting.
Where XES fits
We don't sell tedders — we make bale net wrap — but the two jobs connect. The whole point of tedding is drier, greener hay made inside a tight weather window. Once that leafy hay is in the chamber, it deserves wrapping that holds its shape and sheds water so the feed value you fought for in the field doesn't rot on the outside of the bale in storage. Consistent, full-width net wrap spreads evenly to the bale edges and keeps round bales tight through handling and the stack. If you store outside, pair good wrap with a smart base and stacking plan — see how to store round bale hay. Dry it fast, then protect it.
Frequently asked questions
Do you really need a hay tedder?
It depends on climate and crop. In the humid East, Midwest, and South — and for thick grass or grass-mix hay — a tedder routinely cuts a day off drying and saves rained-on cuttings, so most growers there consider it essential. In arid Western climates and for pure dairy alfalfa baled with a wide-swath conditioner, many growers skip it because the hay dries fine on its own and tedding costs leaves.
When should you ted hay, and when should you stop?
Ted soon after mowing while the crop is still moist, and ted again after a rain once the surface has dried. Stop when the hay turns crispy — if you see dust and chaff flying behind the machine, you're shattering leaves instead of drying hay. As a rule, ted in the cool of morning with dew on rather than in the dry heat of midday.
Should you ted alfalfa?
Only while it's still moist. Alfalfa leaves carry the protein and shatter off when dry, so ted pure alfalfa within about 12–24 hours of mowing or early in the morning with heavy dew — never after it has cured in the sun. Tedding raises leaf loss from roughly 2–3% with dew on to about 5% at 50% moisture in dry conditions. Many dryland alfalfa growers skip tedding entirely and rely on a wide swath and a good conditioner instead.
How fast should you run a tedder?
Slower than you'd think. Many experienced operators back the PTO well off 540 RPM and pick up ground speed instead — a slower rotor folds the hay over gently and "almost stands it up," while a quick travel speed still spreads it wide. Running full PTO speed in dry hay is one of the fastest ways to knock the leaves off.
Can a tedder save rained-on hay?
Often, yes — spreading a wet, down swath is one of the main reasons growers buy one. Wait until the surface dries, then ted to fluff the crop so air reaches every stem; tedding heavy, soaking-wet hay just throws clumps without fluffing them. Expect to lose some green color, but a tedder frequently turns a rained-on cutting that would have molded into sellable hay.
The XES Netting team manufactures bale net wrap for round balers and writes these guides so forage operators can find clear, source-cited answers. Every farmer quote in this post comes from a real HayTalk discussion, linked at the quote — go read the threads in full.
Featured photo: Heuernte in Schleswig-Holstein (hay tedder in use) by Karbohut, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
